Our fellowship has a heart for connecting churches. One way that is being lived out is by a “pulpit swap” conducted by two pastors in central Kansas. In December, Pastor Caleb Barrows of King’s Cross Church in Lyons, Kansas traded places with Pastor Jack Napier at Grace Community Church in Newton, Kansas, for one Sunday. They both taught from the pulpit, leading and shepherding a different congregation with fresh thoughts, ideas, and challenges from God’s Word.
The experience was overwhelmingly positive and a “win-win for both churches,” Caleb says. “The Lord has gifted a lot of different people to preach and teach. It’s good for the local body to experience the length and breadth of that gift.”
Pulpit swapping first came to mind when Pastor Jack presented the idea to the FEC synergy group that meets regularly in central Kansas. These seven or eight church leaders gather monthly to connect, support one another, and discuss how best to do the Lord’s work through their churches. Jack recently encouraged the pastors to consider swapping pulpits for one Sunday. Caleb knew that was what he wanted and arranged the trade with Jack.
Caleb would do another pulpit swap again in a heartbeat–either at Grace or another FEC church in the region. He encourages other pastors to join him. It excites him to see our fellowship growing closer together. “We can’t do kingdom ministry nearly as broadly when we are alone,” Caleb says. He views this type of connection as “critical for the DNA of FEC.”
